Timeline

 

 

 
The A-side of the Pt. 1 single clocked at 4:25, which is a simple fade from the CD source, the 15:20 first track from the Uncle Jam album.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The album featured singles that charted in the U.K. over the two previous years. This single never charted in the U.S. but charted in the U.K. for 11 weeks beginning September 1978.
 

 

 

 
"Rapper`s Delight" was a pop top 40 hit, making The Sugarhill Gang the first commercially successful rap group. The 12" single paired the 7:03 version with a flip side short version that also got a lot of radio play. The rhythm track is taken from Chic`s "Good Times," a huge summer hit from a few months earlier.
 

 
This song entered music history as the first video to be played on MTV in North America at 12:10 a.m. on August 1, 1981.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Also released as a single, Elvis Costello`s cover version of "I Can`t Stand Up" is fast and urgent, while the Sam & Dave original is a great slow burner in their inimitable style, which never appeared on an album until the CD reissue era. Listeners might be excused if they didn`t recognize that these are two versions of the same song, so great is Costello`s transformation of the mood and arrangement of the original. Although cover versions are often put down as pale imitations, each of these is a standout recording on its own terms.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
"The Breaks" was issued on a 7" single in two parts. Part I was a top 10 R&B hit and cracked the Hot 100 for 6 weeks, peaking nationally at 87. The 6:29 length is for the 12" single. The version on the Hip-Hop box extends to 7:39, where it`s called "the first real B-Boy record to sell a million copies."
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This song pays tribute to Bob Marley in general and particularly to his song "Jamming." It neither samples nor directly quotes that song, but rather captures and celebrates its joyful mood and feel.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This popular 1980s oldie achieved cultural icon status and heavy digital downloads in 21st century after being featured on TV in the final episode of The Sopranos in 2007 and the pilot episode of Glee in 2009.